%0 Journal Article
%T Telomere length and telomerase activity in T cells are biomarkers of high©\performing centenarians
%A Andrew T. Ludlow
%A Beatrice Arosio
%A Daniela Mari
%A Ejun Huang
%A Enzo Tedone
%A Kimberly Batten
%A Ryan O¡¯Hara
%A Tsung©\Po Lai
%A Woodring E. Wright
%J Archive of "Aging Cell".
%D 2019
%R 10.1111/acel.12859
%X It is generally recognized that the function of the immune system declines with increased age and one of the major immune changes is impaired T©\cell responses upon antigen presentation/stimulation. Some ¡°high©\performing¡± centenarians (100+ years old) are remarkably successful in escaping, or largely postponing, major age©\related diseases. However, the majority of centenarians (¡°low©\performing¡±) have experienced these pathologies and are forced to reside in long©\term nursing facilities. Previous studies have pooled all centenarians examining heterogeneous populations of resting/unstimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). T cells represent around 60% of PBMC and are in a quiescence state when unstimulated. However, upon stimulation, T cells rapidly divide and exhibit dramatic changes in gene expression. We have compared stimulated T©\cell responses and identified a set of transcripts expressed in vitro that are dramatically different in high©\ vs. low©\performing centenarians. We have also identified several other measurements that are different between high©\ and low©\performing centenarians: (a) The amount of proliferation following in vitro stimulation is dramatically greater in high©\performing centenarians compared to 67©\ to 83©\year©\old controls and low©\performing centenarians; (b) telomere length is greater in the high©\performing centenarians; and (c) telomerase activity following stimulation is greater in the high©\performing centenarians. In addition, we have validated a number of genes whose expression is directly related to telomere length and these are potential fundamental biomarkers of aging that may influence the risk and progression of multiple aging conditions
%K centenarians
%K healthy aging
%K longevity
%K stimulated T cells
%K telomerase activity
%K telomeres
%U https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6351827/